Cassie goes to churchOn the actual night of Christmas Eve, I had accepted an invitation to the home of a mutual friend of
@Steph2.0 and me. Her mom was performing in a bell choir at their church later that evening and she invited me along to the candlelight service. She and her husband laughingly described that as their "one night a year in church".
As we filed into the doorway of the church (and I did
not burst into flames, thank you very much!), they were handing out candles for the ceremony. My friend got the last one and I was handed a glow stick. Apparently, this was the backup plan if they ran out of candles since they had so many of the glow sticks from the kids' activities earlier.
I wondered to myself, "Am I going to a church service or a rave?"
We sat down in the third row from the front, right behind where the pastor sat. I sat between my friend and her sister, with their husbands on the far ends. It might have not been the best idea, lining up the three of us together but we're all adults, right? Right?
As I was reading the programme for the evening, I leaned over to my friend and hissed in her ear, "You didn't tell me that this was a
METHODIST church!", to which she gave me an alarmed look. I just smiled and gave her an "It's okay" gesture.
There were some presentations on the events of that night in the middle east two thousand years ago, along with some songs from the choir. It got me to thinking about how so many beautiful things had been created by people who were inspired by their faith. It's not something I personally feel necessary to have in my life but I understand how others may need that kind of comfort. Reconnecting with my mom has helped me understand that. Even though Jehovah's Witnesses are not the most popular people around, that particular faith gives her comfort.
It's a sad notion that what has inspired such love and beauty is being used so often as an excuse to commit barbaric acts of hate and destruction over the centuries.
At one point, there was some talk about "The Offering" as the plates were readied to be passed. With the theme of the middle-east in mind (and maybe due in part to my experiences over there), I mentioned to my co-troublemakers, "I feel like I should have brought a bushel of wheat or a goat for this."
"It has to be something that fits on the plate."
"So what, a chicken, then?"
Muted giggling ensued.
At one point, I remember my friend's husband saying, "I knew I should have sat between you two.", even though he's the one who mentioned that the offering had to fit on the plate.
